Stakeholders in the private and public sectors welcomed the Marcos administration’s “all-out war” against agricultural smuggling as part of a renewed impetus to ensure the availability of food at affordable prices.
They called for the establishment of “border control” facilities at all major ports of entry in the country to screen agricultural imports.
In an interview, Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Deogracias Victor Savellano said while the imminent opening of the country’s first Cold Examination Facility in Agriculture (CEFA) in Angat, Bulacan is a groundbreaking development, such facilities should be replicated nationwide to be truly effective.
He noted that the DA targets to build similar inspection stations in the ports at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), Subic Bay, Cebu and Davao.
Savellano said his agency anticipates that bidding for the construction of additional quarantine and inspection facilities to commence in about six months.
“This [more quarantine facilities] will enable the government to effectively filter what is coming in [from overseas]. We need them in every major port of entry, not just in one or two, to deal a telling blow on smuggling,” he said in a mixture of Filipino and English.
For his part, Jose Elias Inciong, chairman of the United Broiler and Raisers’ Association (UBRA), welcomed the importance of the Marcos Administration’s renewed emphasis on curbing agricultural smuggling, saying the illegal importation of agricultural goods has been suffocating local food producers for years.
Inciong said that, in addition to potentially stopping smuggling, the envisioned CEFA inspection sites will also help prevent the entry of animal and plant diseases.
UBRA’s chair said that it was due to the lack of effective quarantine facilities that local piggeries are still plagued by African Swine Fever (ASF).
“Let’s not forget that the lack of CEFA stations is what allowed ASF to enter the country in the first place. The disease has decimated up to 50 percent of the hog raisers sector, and we are still contending with it to this day,” he added.
For his part, House Speaker Martin Romualdez directed the Quinta Comm to expedite legislation, including amendments to strengthen the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “DA, hog raisers welcome ‘all-out war’ vs. agricultural smuggling”
